User Reviews

Reviews by gspeicher:

More User Reviews:

4.25/5 rDev +8.1%

A - Creamy head that disappears rather quickly to a thin lacing. Deep reddish amber in color with a subtle hint of haze. 3.75/5

S - Hops are actually somewhat subdued here which is unusual for an IPA. Slight resin, grass, pine aroma. There is some sourness to the aroma reflecting the alcohol content (12%). I also get plenty of stone fruit such as dates. 4.5/5

T - Sweet malt, caramel, and toffee hits me right off the bat. Fruitiness (dates) then enters the picture followed by some resin and pine. Very complex layering here. One flavor hits my tongue right after another. 4.5/5

M - Medium body. Coats the tongue nicely in the beginning and then finishes clean. Somewhat heavier body than most IPAs that I've had. 4/5

O - Amazingly complex beer. Both flavors and aromas are layered very nicely. Can't drink more than one but a great beer to finish the evening with. 4.5/5

Rich with malt and every form of hop note possible; catty, floral, pine resin with doughy malts and a belgiany raisin quality and an alcohol note, of course.

The hops definately represent with piney notes and a grassy finish. In between? Becomes more sweet as it warms up, with rich honeyish malt, caramel, and bread dough, finishing dry and warm but not hot at all.

This is an epic beer worth fearing just a little bit. It meets in between old ale, barleywine, and double ipa in a wonderful way. Let it warm up, delicious.

A: Lots of malts, sweet caramel, toffee malts, hop presence not like I expected, a mix of piney/citrusy aromas, alcohol comes through pretty strong, reminds me of an American style barley wine.

T: Follows the nose, a mix of piney/citrusy hop notes with a big malty finish, caramel, toffee, there's a punch of bitterness in the middle like chewing on pine needles and citrus peel, finish is very dry, heat lingers in the aftertaste.

M: Full bodied with a dry finish and low carbonation, a little stick on the palate.

O: This is a big sipper of a beer, I like it but I don't think it drinks like a IIIPA, more like a hoppy barley wine because of the big malt presence, well balanced, but if you're looking for a hop bomb, I don't think this beer is for you.

L: Good 3F+ head with surprising retention considering ABV (uh oh, is it malted over?), plenty of lacing and a ring. Beer is deep amber, not too hazy as you can see some carbonation bubbles.

S: Not sure if this is supposed to be more malt forward or if we are getting some hop fade. Brewer says they went malt forward to balance the ten different hops they used, so let's go with that. So yes, lots of sweet malt up front. I get some of the tropical scents and floral hints, but surely they intend more from a ten hop concoction? No alcohol in the nose, so that's good.

T: Malt forward, lots of caramel and wheat, maybe some Pils, tropical fruit and some pine in there as well. A bit floral. A little bit of alcohol on the end. Others have remarked there is a barleywine-ish character and I would not disagree.

F: Medium to full bodied, light to medium carbonation as the alcohol does the drying work. By default, getting all these malts and hops into a reasonable tasting beer is a plus for construction, and the balancing of this very high IBU is well-done.

O: Would like to try it fresh and see if there is any difference, but when I think Triple IPA, I think of Kane's Hop Lab and not this interpretation of the style.

This brew is definitely too much of a good thing. I'm sure it's a hop lover's delight, but I just don't get what all the raving is all about. Pours a deep hazy gold in color with a loose white head. Nose is intense hops, grapefruit and pine, incredibly pungant and alcoholic. Taste is very much the same, very drying on the palate, not a pleasant experience. Mouthfeel is slick and oily, coats the palate. This is a horribly out of balance brew and something I just don't care much for.

Taste: starts off sweet on the front of the tongue and very quickly creates a tart, bitterness on the back and sides. Deep rich fruits, figs, malts and then a strong alcoholic taste. Bitterness, not to sharp in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: medium body, medium carbonation

Overall: Interesting drink. Sweet then tart. Explosion of hop bitterness nice sipper that punches you in the face with hops and also balances it with quite a bit of malt. Another great Founders brew. A different, full flavored beer but not a style that I will repeat.

smell is very bland, lots of caramel malt to this. slight hops aroma, was expecting this to be overwhelming with hops.

taste is damn near barleywine-esque. lots of malt with a hop smoothness, slight burn at the end. gets smoother at this warms.

overall this isn't bad but it sure is different. personally i prefer 120 Minute over this but they're different.

bottled 5/10/16 and consumed 8/10/16
the first time i had this it was very malty and large. i prefer 120 Minute to this greatly.
-still this has a barleywine feel to it. good flavor and easy drinking for 12%. seems much more like a barleywine (which is fine) but from the jump this never felt like an IPA to me, even when fresh.

this is more barleywine to me than anything. i had this less than 30 days old and i had this 3 months old. better with moderate age but still more barleywine-y to me.

I definitely enjoy this style and been wanting to try this for a while. $21 for a four pack though, youch that is pricey for an American beer. Pours a dark, Amber looks like s barley wine. Smell is earthy, herbaceous, piney hops. Very muddled with numerous flavors coming through mildly. Taste is a vague medley of hops with nothing distinct followed by a barley wine level of sweetness, bread and booziness. Mouthfeel is viscous and thick.

Overall, I came into this liking the style but having a low level of expectation for Founders ability to do hoppy styles. They hit the malty dark beers well but I've never had a quality hoppy beer from them. True to form this didn't impress. The label says 10 hop varieties used and that's a good summation for the beer. It's like they lobbed a bunch of malts and hops in with no regard for the flavors they'd bring. It's a bit of a garbage bin beer.

A sipper, for sure. Rye flavors mix with citrus rinds and small doses of dark stone fruit liqueurs. A roasted character adds to the strong bitterness brought on by big helpings of resinous hops. As one becomes accustomed to this beast, more gentle flavors come through, such as caramel and buttered cinnamon toast.

Creamy, with a medium body and a bit of an oil slick, this has a bitter, biting finish. Carbonation is moderate, making this big beer seem even bigger. A more crisp quality would reign this back into the IPA style.

A big, complex, bitter, booze-fest, this beer is not for the faint of heart. Great for those who aren't afraid of a gargantuan first impression!

Good overall beer. $19 for a 4 pack is ridiculous. Good thing I stole that shit ;) well technically I put it in a custom 6er but I digress. It was like a southern tier 2xIPA on steroids. I could've brewed a better triple ipa had I had 10 different hops in my possession. Booze is hidden well though.

It was great to finally get to try this beer I was anticipating it for awhile.Poured a deep burgundy with a thinner slight off white head,big fruity esters in the nose like alcohol dipped dark fruit with an undelying but very noticable piney hop elemant.Aroma wise and flavor wise this is an hopped up American barley wine,flavors are of dark fruit and brown sugar up front finishing very piney.The alcohol to me was pretty well hidden and very decieving,in some ways reminded me of Great Divide Old Ruffian in its hop profile.A great brew Iam hoping that it will be on tap at Founders next month when in GR.

Appearance  This one poured a thick, heavy orange with a brownish tint to the liquid and sported a big, super-puffy off-white head.

Smell  The deep, mature, sharp malts form a rich bouquet. The caramel especially is thick and heavy. The hops are extremely complex; I cant begin to describe them all so wont even try. The citrus is dominant and the pine is sharp but well-blended.

Taste  The malts here sugar up at the taste. They very sweet and offer a nice balance to the gigantic hop profile.

Mouthfeel  This medium to full-bodied triple IPA is very boozy. The bitterness is completely worked out of the mouthfeel.

Drinkability  This was a tasty treat that should never, ever, be bottled in bombers!

Comments  Thanks to the much-respected and highly-regarded BuckeyeNation for tossing this little hop bomb into my trading box. Good triple IPAs are hard to find, but this one certainly lived up to my expectations of this unofficial style.

Taste/MF: this is a sipper indeed but many great flavors are still prevalent: pine and grapefruit for sure but also mangoes, cherry jam, marmalade, juniper, tobacco, and more. Warmth comes in waves, tidal waves, but the carbonation keeps the booze from coming on to thick. Very nice.

Pours a copper-orange color with a small head that leaves minimal lacing. The first whiff hits with a load of caramel toasted malts, a touch of vanilla, and an abundance of alcohol. A touch of fruity flavors are hinted at, but not very noticeable. The alcohol gets stronger and stronger as the beer gets warmer, until eventually it's almost the only thing you notice, along with the malts. For a "triple IPA", it's weird how much the malts and alcohol overpower the actual hop smell. Hops are present, but not at all in the foreground.

The taste... well, I don't understand how so many people have given this beer a good review. I guess that's just the difference in tastes. But this beer was bleh. Hoppy and bitter, with overpowering malts, and extremely annoying alcoholic properties. Way too boozy. And not boozy in a "oak barrel aged bourbon" kind of way - boozy in a "this is difficult to drink" kind of way. It's as if the alcohol is there unnecessarily. It's unwarranted, unwanted, and uncalled for in this amount. I feel like Founder's was strictly going for the novelty of 12% ABV without much regard to the actual taste, which is a shame because most of their brews are amazing. This beer left a sharp bite on the back of the throat and the booze only got stronger and more arrogant as time went on. Super thick and left the mouth feeling sticky and coated. Pungent, heavily alcoholic aftertaste.

Yuck. I was very disappointed with this. Founder's puts out amazing stuff, but this just missed the mark. Instead of an incredibly complex, hoppy brew, I was sucking on a hodge-podge of malts, unwanted bitterness, and overpowering alcohol burn. I'll definitely be passing this one up next time.

Pours a ruby red and copper with a thin, half-inch head that quickly dissipates. Whats left over clings to the glass and leaves a nice lacing - a trait I find in most all Founders beers.

Poking my nose into this one I get a lot of sweet hops - most apricot and apple as well as caramel malt. Fairly big and alcoholic in the nose. Funny, but the hop bitterness is just missing from this beer - especially given its reputation and high IBUs. Its sweet and cloying - not in a completely bad way, but not what you would expect. Definitely big on the sugary malts.

Alcoholic and somewhat astringent - not what I would classify as a IIPA or barleywine by any stretch. Definitely an interesting beer, but not one I will go out of my way for again.